Trump’s rekindled alliance with Elon Musk on display at medal ceremony

President Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk on Thursday as he awarded the tech leader with the National Medal of Science , just a little more than a year after the high-profile relationship between the pair turned into an explosive public feud.

Trump presented the SpaceX and Tesla CEO with the nation’s highest form of recognition for scientists and engineers, touting him as a “national treasure” and “our modern-day Thomas Edison.”

“Quite honestly there’s nobody like him,” the president said. “Few Americans in history have done more to advance America’s national interest and Elon, in one field after another, his genius and determination have made science fiction into reality.”

The award comes a little more than a year after Trump and Musk — who once referred to himself as the “first buddy” — were embroiled in a public falling out over provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Musk took on a prominent role in the administration after spending at least $250 million to boost Trump’s 2024 campaign. He was tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a highly controversial cost-cutting effort.

The tech billionaire left the White House after just four months, as cracks appeared in his relationship with the president that eventually spilled out onto social media, with Musk threatening to launch a third party.

However, the two reached a detente of sorts following the September 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Trump and Musk were both seen sitting together at Kirk’s memorial service.

Musk has since appeared with Trump at a number of major events, including the president’s state visit to China in May as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington last month.

He was also among the tech leaders present at the White House for Trump’s artificial intelligence summit, where the president invited Musk to speak to reporters during a rare appearance on the White House North Lawn.

Trump also honored Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su with the National Medal of Science on Thursday, while presenting Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.